The Spanish government has reopened the possibility of a high-speed rail link to north Africa. £2m of funding has been confirmed for a new feasibility study.
The Spanish government has reopened the possibility of a high-speed rail link to north Africa, The Independent reports. £2 million of funding has been confirmed to carry out a feasibility study into an undersea tunnel that would link Spain and Morocco.
The scheme, known as the “Europe-Africa Gibraltar strait fixed link”, was first proposed in the 1970s, but firm plans failed to materialise, and the idea was finally mothballed in 2009. However, a joint committee of the respective countries has been reconvened and there are raised hopes for further progress.
Speaking at the joint committee meeting, Spain’s minister of transport, mobility and urban agenda Raquel Sanchez said: “It has an important political significance that, after 14 years, since Tangiers in October 2009, we give a boost to the studies of a project of the utmost geostrategic relevance for our countries and for the relations between Europe and Africa”.
She added: “We are beginning a new stage in the revival of the fixed link project across the Strait of Gibraltar, which we launched in 1981, hand in hand.”
Both countries now have high speed rail links that run to the relevant coastal regions, boosting the chances of a successful outcome to the latest discussions. However, UK tunnelling specialist Martin Knights has cast doubt on the new developments.
Knights told New Civil Engineer: “People have talked about it for 30/40 years. Unless there is a strong economic case for the tunnel, I don’t see it flying. Who is going to pay for it? Unless there is some divine funding for the costs of the tunnel, I think this might be a false-start again.”
The funding for the new feasibility study has been provided by the EU’s Recovery, Transformation & Resilience Plan, which was set up to help the European economy bounce back from the effects of the Covid pandemic.
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